Keep Marching.

read time: 10 mins

Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and its strong warriors…” 

Joshua 6:1-3

God had promised the Israelites this land years ago. And now they are at the precipice, knocking on the door of what God had envisioned for them. But here's the problem, the doors were locked. Big walls blocked them from their destiny and giants guarded the land God promised them. I can imagine the Israelites getting discouraged at the roadblocks between them and their dream. I actually don't have to imagine. It happened multiple times on this 40-year journey to the rest God promised them. They were used to seeing obstacles and losing faith because of it. And we may sympathize. I want to take some time to point out the power behind the promises of God, so that when you feel discouraged like the Israelites you can think back on this and have the push to get through. 

The Israelites have already had people discourage them by telling them how massive the inhabitants are. They could feel the imposter syndrome. “Did God really call us to this?” “This city may be above my pay grade.” “This battle may be too much for me.” I get it. There are often times in my life where God leads me on a journey of faith for what feels like 40 years and gets me through obstacle upon obstacle, but as soon as I get to a new challenge I seem to lose faith again. And from talking to a lot of you, I know that you do too. It's easy to rejoice when God calls you through battles A, B, and C, just to seemingly forget and worry when we see battle D approaching. Can I be honest here? I've had moments where God has told me what to pray for, then performed miracle after miracle and won victory after victory to do just what He said he would, but I would begin to feel like hope was lost as soon as I saw one extra hurdle. God may have called you to that relationship, performed signs and wonders to confirm it for you, ordained unexpected situations to set it up, but as soon as you have one argument you're ready to throw the whole thing away. God protected you against that generational curse, He gave a support system and a way of escape, but you feel like you lost it all when you see one trigger. God sent plagues and got them out of Egypt, but they got discouraged when Pharaoh came after them. God parted the Red Sea then they got discouraged when they had no food or water. God gave food and water and then they got discouraged at the battle on the horizon. You see the pattern? 

God is bigger than the obstacles and His word is bigger than fear. The Israelites have seen God do the unspeakable to bring them to this point and now they’re afraid? If God calls you to something He will have the final say. He will win. Remember that. Keep moving.

Can I point something out that drives the power of God’s words even further? I think we forget how powerful God's word is, no matter the situations surrounding us. We see through the story of Joshua that multiple countries and kingdoms are afraid of the Israelites because of what God did in the past. 40 years in the past to be exact. And because of that fear Jericho for one locks their gates, and no one can come in or out. 

Now, these seem like crazy details but let's picture it real quick. A great city shuts its borders. No one or thing can get in or out because of their paralyzing fear (that's another sermon). That means that trade stops. That means they cannot outsource food. That also means they cannot expel members with disease or other contiguous elements. Armies would actually employ this as a battle strategy and we see it in other stories in the bible. If you block a city from going in or out of its walls, you're essentially killing them from the inside out. So let's step back and look at this. 

The Israelites may have seen the walls, seen how fortified they were, and seen the security keeping them locked but do you think they realized that this supposed roadblock was actually in their favor? 

Can I go a little deeper? Someone say go deeper!  (Go deeper!) Ok, I will! (Shout out Pastor Damien Chandler lol). 

The Israelites may have also thought marching was a hindrance from what God was calling them to. Think about it. You want us to waste time and energy marching around a city? What if they get a better estimate of our numbers so they can counterattack? What if they call for reinforcements? What if they throw boulders over the top of the walls to crush us like the earth nation in Avatar? These are valid concerns, but when you realize what God may be trying to do, this plan is just waiting out the inevitable. By spending a week marching, you're basically further snuffing out your enemy and emptying them of resources and energy. They may not have known that by marching, moving forward in the direction God gave them, they were actually fighting their biggest battle. 

Now, this is all speculation. But I want to use it to point out two points. One, you don't know what God is doing so trust Him. and two, keep marching cause you don't know what God is doing through the last instruction He gave you. 

Life will get discouraging. Life will get hard. But when God calls you to something it happens. God spoke light into existence without making a sun first and we think the things He has spoken over our lives won’t work out? 

If God called you to something just keep going. Trust what He said. He may have called you to school and it's taking longer than expected… keep marching. He may have called you to that marriage and it's getting hard… keep marching. He may have called you to that ministry and no one is showing up… keep marching. Just keep going. I believe our God keeps His word concerning us. 

You don’t know how He will win. But you know He will. So keep marching and trust that it is part of your battle strategy. 

Thank you so much for reading. I pray you were blessed. 

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